Tuesday, November 21, 2006

I probably chose to post this mostly because of the design of the cover. I do love 80's groove, but most of these tracks are a bit too cheesy for me. And unfortunately, each track doesn't last very long. But for a good image of 1986 charts, it's quite excellent. I particularly like the moment where Colonel Abrams' Trapped mixes into The Whispers' And the Beat Goes On. I have listed at the bottom of this post mp3s for some of the tracks I prefer from this mix as standalone tracks.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Also found in the Dalston Oxfam Shop tape bin some time back but I didn't record till now because unfortunately one side of the cassette is mono, it only works in one channel. But I went back to it recently and realized I really am feeling this sound right now so I posted the one side that sounds ok.

This is a private mixtape done by someone probably very late 80's maybe early 90's and there's no tracklisting but it's got Can U Feel It and a version of Keep Me Hangin On which you can watch a vid of the Kim Wilde version of at that link on "Kim Wilde TV" :). Listen to the whole thing as it gets much better about 3/4 way through. This obviously done by the same people who did this earlier Acieed cassette I posted. If anyone has any info on who did these, I'd love to know.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

I was on the hollertronix bulletin board discussing various views I had on hardcore, et cetera, and a guy called Steve PMX got in touch with me (this is he) about the excellent loveliness of my blog and we started shooting the shit and then . . . boom. He's hosting a guest post on my blog!! Mostly I decided to let him post a cassette because he had this gif on his myspace.

He's a back in the day throwin parties from DC (as in crack mayor DC) kind of guy and has a radio here. So here's his selection and writeup.

Street Jams - Electric Funk - Part 4 (Rhino Records 1994)This silly looking Rhino tape comp fully represents the underestimated magic of the 99c tape bin. Most people walk right by these tape bins, but there are gems to be found once you take a second to dig through the membrane of Meat Loaf and Joan Jett tapes on the surface. It's called Street Jams, and it's basically a VERY quirky compilation of dope 80s Freestyle/Electro/Pop(?) tracks created for the neon-lit 80s nightclubs and cardboard on the streets/sidewalks alike.

I was too young to experience the neon nightclubs, but I *definitely* remember the ghetto blasters and street dancers on cardboard mats in the early-mid 80s. One day in particular that stands out is going to see Breakin' 2 in some movie theater in Washington DC when I was 8 years old. Went with my mum and older brother, and after the movie let out I remember seeing this mad scene on the streets with tons of kids breakin on cardboard mats - battling and shit. It was so surreal and like "futuristic" - in retrospect I'm convinced that particular day dictated the direction my life/musical obsession would eventually follow. So without going too deep, this tape brings that feeling back when I hear it. Standout tracks for me are both the Freestyle joints, 'Rock The Planet' by Megatrons, 'Computer Power' by Jamie Jupitor [aka Egyptian Lover] and 'Dance' also by Egyptian Lover. 'Dance' kinda reminds me of Skinny Puppy a little, as far as the percussion and moody synths in the production. I've always seen a big link between Electro/Freestyle and Industrial music, and you can really hear the similarities here.'White Horse' by Laid Back (pictures above) is another great tune on this compilation, which apparently got alot of support from Prince (weird); and 'Technicolor' by Channel One [aka Juan Atkins/Cybotron] gets points for paving the way for 'Baby Got Back' 6 years later (peep first 16 bars)....